Split Pea-Spinach Dal with Cauliflower

Throughout India, a meal is not complete without some variation of this spice-tempered legume dish. Cumin and turmeric provide slightly bitter notes, but this dish has an overall salty-savory flavor. Split-pea spinach dal with cauliflower is more of a stew than a soup; for a thinner version, decrease the final simmering time.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups water, divided

1 cup dried yellow split peas

1 bay leaf

2 cups chopped cauliflower florets

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

4 cups torn spinach

Nutritional Information

Calories 183

Caloriesfromfat 18%

Fat 3.7g

Satfat 1.4g

Monofat 0.9g

Polyfat 0.6g

Protein 11.4g

Carbohydrate 28.8g

Fiber 2.6g

Cholesterol 5mg

Iron 3.4mg

Sodium 649mg

Calcium 75mg

Calories 183

Caloriesfromfat 18%

Fat 3.7g

Satfat 1.4g

Monofat 0.9g

Polyfat 0.6g

Protein 11.4g

Carbohydrate 28.8g

Fiber 2.6g

Cholesterol 5mg

Iron 3.4mg

Sodium 649mg

Calcium 75mg

How to Make It

Step 1

Combine 2 1/2 cups water, peas, and bay leaf in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, 50 minutes or until tender. Add 1 cup water, cauliflower, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until cauliflower is very tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; discard bay leaf.

Read More

Sign Up for our Newsletter

Ratings & Reviews

mariamc1264's Review

Excellent dish. I made it exactly according to the recipe and it is delicious. Perfect for "meatless Monday" with a side of brown rice. Also, very low in net carbs, so it is perfect for my diabetic diet.

chef1greg's Review

This is an excellent dish, and perfect for gluten-free, dairy-free diets (substitute the butter out). It's very easy to make. I left out the mustard seeds, and it's awesome. Made it twice in the past 2 weeks and plan on making it again.

DeweyDell's Review

itravel's Review

I only had green split peas as others are hard to find. Based on other reviews I doubled the cauliflower and reduced the cumin. I noticed the spices on a whole are equivalent to curry powder so next time I might try that. Nevertheless, the spices worked well and this stew was very good with some crusty bread. I would make this again.

Vicuska's Review

The dish had a great blend of flavors, everyone enjoyed it in the family. I would use a bit of less cumin and more cauliflower next time though. I did not have spinach, but I can imagine that it would have further improved the Dal. All in all, it is an easy to make, healthy, yummy comfort dish which I will make regularly.

dena9472's Review

greyout's Review

dmloss's Review

This was excellent! I didn't have cumin or brown mustard seed so I used 1/2 tablespoons of ground cumin and 2 tablespoons of dry mustard after looked up how to substitute. I would definitely make again!